GORKI, February 1. /TASS/. The novel coronavirus pandemic has given a fresh impetus to the idea of a four-day working week, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said.
"It seems to me that this idea <…> is valuable in itself," he said in an interview with the Russian media.
In his words, the current novel coronavirus pandemic "added new colors to this story," as many employees shifted to remote work, while their working schedule is sometimes changed drastically.
"That’s why I think that we are yet to return to this idea," he added.
According to Medvedev, it is evident that in some cases a four-day working week "has certain advantages even if no pandemic is taking place, because it provides an employee with a more efficient way of managing his spare time."
At the same time, he believes that a four-day working week must in no way affect labor productivity.
"If this is possible, then this idea can be used more widely," the official added.
In his words, the Soviet Union and many other states used a six-day working week schedule at some point in their history, but later switched to a five-day working week.
According to Medvedev, the transition to a four-day working week should be gradual and must not create any obstacles for economic development.
However, he continued, "the humanity is moving toward giving an individual more space to live, more opportunity to rest and to organize his working day routine in a more efficient way."
The idea of introducing a four-day working week in Russia was first voiced by Dmitry Medvedev during the International Labor Conference in Geneva in June 2019. "It is quite probable that the future is for the four-day workweek as the basis of the social labor contract," he said.
In August 2019, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia sent a proposal to the Labor and Social Protection Ministry to reduce the work week to four days while maintaining salaries. Medvedev instructed the ministry to define its position on the prospects for the transition to a four-day work week. The Prime Minister stressed that the transition should go hand in hand with an increase in labor productivity and maintaining salaries.